My Murderous Finale - ✔️

Chapter 12

The flight home was much quieter than the flight there. Everyone had headphones in and most were sleeping off hangovers. I sat listening to music, my mind lost in the thoughts of going back to my house after two weeks away. More than anything I hoped that Evan had cooled off and forgotten about what happened the last time we had seen each other. I was certain that the weeks apart wouldn't help anything but I could hope. The extremely daunting task of figuring out how to leave Evan lay before me and I felt completely lost as to where to even begin.

I glanced at my phone a few times on the flight and tried to convince myself that I was only checking the time. But I knew I really wasn't. I was waiting, more like hoping, to see a text from Milo. I couldn't explain it, this attraction to not just his looks but to all of him and the addictive feeling that I got from him touching me. I shifted in my seat and clenched my thighs together thinking about his fingers in places they shouldn't be. I looked out the window and tried to relax because heading back home to the real world wasn't the time to be thinking of Milo touching me.

I took an Uber back to my house after we landed. I had wanted to go back to Kellan's house but when he asked I lied and said I was fine going back home. I didn't want to be a burden on my brother and I'd dealt with Evan this long, I could do it for a little while longer. Usually, after a particularly violent altercation with him, it was a little while before it escalated again. It should give me enough time to figure out how to get money saved without him noticing. Who I was able to be in Miami, made me finally see clearly. Upending my horrible life and starting over wasn't that bad of a thing to do. I would be fine. Way better than I was currently.

When I walked through the front door I was greeted by a massive bouquet of flowers sitting on the round entry table. My heart started to race. I had not been given flowers once since Evan and I had been married. I had no idea what I was walking into. Evan never apologized after he laid hands on me. He had never given me a gift and moved on. His only response was to  just ignore what happened between us. I stood frozen in place listening to the silence of the house around me. Then my phone rang and I answered it without looking at who it was.

"Elli, how do you like the flowers?" Evan said in a voice I hardly recognized, rendering me speechless.

"I can see that you're staring right at them, aren't you going to say something?" His voice quickly teetered on the side of his normal irritation with me, however now it was laced with a sweet ring to it that made my skin crawl. Of course, he saw when I got home, he was watching me on the cameras as always. I wanted to vomit.

" yes!" I said a little too loudly coming out of my thoughts I cleared my throat and continued. " Evan, thank you for them. It was very generous of you." I was lying through my teeth but I was good at this act now. It wasn't generous at all! He'd slammed me into a bathtub and left me bruised for weeks and his way of 'moving on' from it was flowers and not acknowledging what had happened? How had I been so blind to how horrific he was before now. I had just come to see it as normal. It was far from that.

" Good, I'm glad. Well, I put a thousand on your card. Buy yourself something nice. I'll be home in three weeks, business of course." Then the line went dead, no goodbye or any pleasantries, thank god.

Three weeks without him showing up, combined with the two weeks I'd already spent away from him was going to be amazing. I'd definitely have time to make some plans for myself as to what I was going to do for the future. My future. My future without that narcissist. I walked to my bedroom laughing at the gestures Evan had made, to what?  "apologize"? The old me would have taken these gestures as an olive branch, something genuine, a sign he was trying to change. Now, I knew better. I knew that neither of these gestures could ever begin to make up for what he did to me. Now I knew that things mean nothing and words and actions mean everything. How could I have been so blind before?

I felt like I had finally woken up and it was refreshing. I was ecstatic at the revelations I'd made about myself in such a short time. I quickly threw my suitcase in my closet so I could go through my laundry tomorrow and  started to run a bath. Soaking in the steamy water with bubbles covering the surface of the water, I finally felt relaxed.

The next week went by slowly. I had made a plan to start getting clothes and jewelry out of the house so that once I left I had money and my own clothing. I spent the night at Kellan's three times the first week and twice the second. Each time I'd leave the house with a weekender bag full of clothing, toiletries, and small jewelry pieces I knew Evan wouldn't remember. Each time, I'd return home the next morning with a full-looking yet empty bag. All of this because I knew Evan would be watching the cameras like crazy. Kellan managed to sell the pieces of jewelry I left with him, filling a bank account he'd made for me with a few thousand dollars already. I felt confident and proud. Both things I'd never felt in my marriage.

Each time I stayed with Kellan, I didn't see any of his friends. I started to feel like everything with Milo on vacation was just, vacation fun and nothing more. And as much as I craved more with him, if that was all it was between us and there wasn't more, I'd have more time to focus on myself.

By Wednesday of my third week back from Miami, I felt like cabin fever was taking over. The freedom I felt on that trip changed me. I was grumpy and irritated for no reason at all. After slamming a few doors and stomping around the house like a child, I called Kellan begging him to come to pick me up yet again and thankfully he obliged. When he pulled up out front of my house, I yanked the passenger side door open, plopped into the seat with a heavy sigh, and slammed the door shut.

" Damn, easy on the car, killer. What's got you all worked up?" Kellan asked with a chuckle, for some reason it grated on my nerves.

" Nothing is wrong with me!" I retorted a little more viciously than I meant to. Kellan raised his hands in surrender before pulling out of the driveway.

" I swear, it must be a full moon or something that's got y'all all worked up."

" What are you trying to say Kellan?"

" Milo's been a little ass hole all day too. The last few weeks now that I think about it. Now I pick you up and you're being an asshole. Shit I'm gonna get home and the guys will probably be assholes too." he was still chuckling.

" The guys are over at your house right now?" I couldn't hide the irritation that radiated from me for no reason, I liked his friends.

" Yeah, sorry, I didn't think you'd mind so I didn't bother mentioning it. But if you're like, ya know, having 'girly time' or whatever you don't have to hang out."

" Kellan, shut up. God I swear, you're being the annoying little brother that you were as a kid."

" Ok, and you're being the bitchy older sister you were back then too," I swear I was going to kill him.